I am sick of my spoiled generation. I'm convinced that I'm born into a generation of proud, obnoxious, brats who think that everyone else owes them a living. It's just something about having lived in a generation of abundance and prosperity that seems to have spoiled the good down-to-earth values of the human race and turned us into a sour batch of people who just leave a sick taste in the mouth.
"Why do you think so?" you ask?
Let's tackle this problem one step at a time.
First, was the general comments and observations I've had of so many people here in Singapore - also the same group who have even endearingly been dubbed "champion complainers" by LKY. People here - especially those in the age-range of my generation - complain about ANYTHING. Seriously, people should be installed with some sort of complain-quota. I mean, it really annoys me.
Why it annoys me? Because it's proud. Pretty much any form of complaining is basically saying, "I don't deserve this." i.e. "I know better what I deserve." and ""I deserve better."
Just a couple of months ago, I asked someone about his attitude to work - which was simply sloppy and irresponsible - and was so shocked to his explanation that his pay didn't justify a better work attitude. What the-?! What kind of mindset is that?! When the heck did salary become the independent variable?! Money is a reward, and you are rewarded how you well you work. A man reaps what he sows. You shouldn't be working any less diligently because you're growing peas instead of rice. That's dumb. If you've been blessed with the seeds to grow peas, grow them well. Then, and only then, when your boss has seen your attitude in the small things, he will later give you a gift to care for the big things.
Complaining pisses me off. It's inefficient and affects you (and serves to plant you in the very place you don't want to be in, according to the self-fulfilling prophecy), and it affects others around you as well. You BECOME a problem, as well as a problem-creator. Don't do it. Don't be a part of the problem. Be part of the solution.
But I'm not done with this rant.
I'm upset with this spoiled generation because they don't care for people any more than for themselves. They put themselves first, disregarding the feelings of others.
And here is where I draw upon an anecdote of a lunch at my workplace with the some interns. So, I work in a food manufacturing company where we have lunch together. It's a humble place and lunch is cooked on roster by the aunties at the factory. In short, food was prepared for them, they came down, decided that it wasn't good enough for them, and decided not to eat, leaving all that food to waste. What the..?! Sure, the food where we work isn't exactly MacDonalds. And yeah, maybe the rice might be a bit hard at times, and we might be limited by the ingredients we have on some days.... But don't they know that the food was cooked by someone who thought for them? Someone who made time and effort to cook for them? Don't they know that everyone else ate less that day so that they would have enough to eat?! I don't know why I even allowed them not to eat! The auntie who cooked that day was so hurt. I was so embarrassed by their attitude I had to explain to her that it wasn't her cooking and it was just a flaw in my generation. :(
A couple of months ago, I read a sociological article about the change in mindset of the societal roles and responsibilities of parents and children and was so saddened by the findings. The finding of the research was basically that parents were now working harder and later into life as they take on heavier burdens of putting their children through higher education and moving into "Altruistic parenting" which meant that they no longer expected their children to give back to the family as soon as their children were ready to work ("ready to work" which used to be defined as physically able to get out and get a job). Alright, the increased burden on the parents I can accept. Thing is, on the flipside, the children, instead of becoming more grateful to the greater sacrifices of their parents, have seemed to devolve into a generation of...leeches. My generation is a generation that EXPECTS their parents to support them through school. They EXPECT their parents to provide for them until "they're ready" (now defined by some psycho-emotional decision of the children). And worse, they DON'T see themselves as responsible for their parents when their parents are in their old age - they expect THE GOVERNMENT to do that! When their parents are ill or old they expect someone else to care for them! And if they don't get their way, and find their parents too much of a bother, they just abandon them!
What the heck is wrong with my generation? My sick, ungrateful, generation.
It pisses me off. It pisses me off that I have grown up in a generation of kids that have been so pampered by their parents who have worked their butts off to pay for all sorts of tuition and classes for their kids, and have their kids instead complain about some ridiculous thing like how their parents are not giving them enough money for...LIFESTYLE. It pisses me off that I've grown up in a generation where parents sacrifice their time and sleep to chauffeur their children around and still have them reliant up till they're...goodness how old (apparently I've heard of a 30 plus year old still being driven around by her dad). 0_o
I'm stick of this generation that thinks that everyone owes them a living and that work is easy and they SHOULD get be treated well when they haven't even proven their worth. And to this, I have so many anecdotes this past winter that I hesitate starting on them for fear that I won't be able to stop.
And here is where I insert a fragment of "work" I picked up whilst cleaning up after my interns:
Tracks that seriously were not pleasant to have discovered. I'm even afraid to ask for an explanation because I rather the benefit of the doubt.
I was going to send them a debrief email before I found this. I haven't sent the email yet, but I've been considering ending the mail with, "Btw, if you want to skive, it's technically not right to do it even if your boss doesn't find out, cause' it's dishonest. But if you do, at least don't leave tracks, because it's just not very clever."
Okay, this is where I'm stopping with the anecdotes because I can feel that I'm about to go into b****ing mode which I also don't agree with. It was wrong, they should have known it, so I'm not going to delve further into that.
But seriously, This is not just a spoiled generation, this is also an ignorant generation.
A weak, ignorant generation.
This is a generation that complains about food, about having to take public transportation, about...all sorts of things that falls short of their expectations in life. And worse, expects people around them to pay for that shortfall. Does this generation not know the blessings that they have? Do they not know that there are families - SO MANY of them - that struggle every day for a single bowl of rice? Do they not know that there are people out there in the world who toil in the fields for a meager pay and that these are the people who are working hard to give us the food we have in our stocked pantries? Do they not know that there are people who have left their families, paid large sums of money, and flown hundreds of miles, just to work for a pay to support their loved ones so far away?!
Don't you dare despise the construction workers or maids or cleaners, you sick spoiled kids, for these are the very people who serve you and support your country's prized name of a clean metropolis. And don't you dare complain about how foreigners are coming in and taking up so many jobs when you wouldn't take up the very same job if you were paid a hundredfold simply because you're so proud and it's "below you". Don't you dare give me that snobby attitude because you're "more educated". You were blessed with that opportunity in life and somewhere along your ancestry someone worked darn hard to bless with the life you're now living. Not everyone in the world has the opportunities that have been GIVEN to you and you should not be despising them for that. Don't you dare despise these who probably have more courage and understanding of life and love, than you.
In fact, I challenge you. Next time you feel a complaint coming up, I challenge you hold it in, and try to take a new, humbler perspective to life. And to these people whom you're tempted to despise, I challenge you to THANK them. I challenge you to thank them for their service to you. I challenge you to thank them for the sacrifices they've made to come to occupy the "lower ranks of society". I challenge you to HONOR them for their love for their families. Seriously I challenge you to go talk to any one of them and ask them about their life story. Ask them why they came, what they left, and find out what kind of sacrifices they've made.
Maybe then, you'll be a little more humble, and a little more grateful for everything you have.
Keep it real people. Step out of that bubble of pride, and know that you are blessed.
*fingers crossed that this rant has somehow made a difference to help save us from the ugly deteriorating path we seem to be on*
Amidst the constant stream of Tamil devotees marching from the Sri Srinivasa Permal Temple in Serangoon Road, I chanced upon a group of Chinese Hindus and Buddhists participating in the march. Here, a young Chinese devotee stops to let his two Tamil helpers adjust the piercings all over his body. Imagine enduring all that pain and carrying such a heavy load on a 10 km walk.
The Chinese devotee with the piercings was accompanied by a troupe of Chinese men carrying kavadis (jars filled with milk) on their heads. Usually a family or clan activity, the womenfolk walk alongside the men as a show of solidarity and cheer them on. In our multiracial society, it is not uncommon to see Chinese Buddhists participating in Hindu activities or praying to Hindu deities.
More piercings on a devotee's body, this time in the form of hooked plums on his back. The hooks were angled in such a way that they would be securely fastened without inflicting much pain on the wearer's back. But with that many plums on his bag, I found it disbelieving that he didn't flinch at all from the pain.
The long queue towards the end-point at Tank Road due to an artificial choke-point created at the entrance to the temple to regulate the inflow and outflow of devotees. Given the recent religious tensions in Malaysia, the authorities have also stepped up security in the area.
The end-point: The Sri Thandayuthapani Temple at Tank Road, set up by the Chettiar (money-lending) community in 1859 and dedicated to the six-faced Lord Subramaniam (Lord Muruga).
The devotees poured the kavadis into the temple spring as a form of blessing, received the rites of rituals from the temple elders, and rested with their friends and family with food and drinks in a giant tent set up within the temple grounds.
